UFC on FUEL TV 8 weigh-in results: Silva and Stann set, Sanchez heavy

SAITAMA, Japan – MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) was on scene and reporting live from today’s UFC on FUEL TV 8 fighter weigh-ins.

The festivities took place at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, which also hosts Saturday’s event.

In the main event, MMA legend Wanderlei Silva (34-12-1 MMA, 4-7 UFC) meets Brian Stann (12-5 MMA, 6-4 UFC). It’s a return to Japan for Silva for the first time since his days in PRIDE, which made him one of the sport’s true superstars. Moving back to light heavyweight for the fight, Silva came in at 204 pounds. Stann, who has said his trip from middleweight to 205 pounds is a one-time-only occasion for the chance to fight a legend like Silva, weighed in at 206.

The co-main event is a heavyweight fight between Mark Hunt (8-7 MMA, 3-1 UFC), who also has plenty of history in Japan for PRIDE, and Stefan Struve (25-5 MMA, 9-3 UFC). Struve will have a massive height and reach advantage in the fight. As the tallest fighter in UFC history, Struve checks in at either 6-foot-11 or 7 feet tall, depending on the source; Hunt is 5-10. On the scale, Struve weighed in at 260 pounds, while Hunt was 266, right at the heavyweight limit.

Also on the card, former lightweight title challenger Diego Sanchez (23-5 MMA, 12-5 UFC) returns to the division after a stint at welterweight to meet Japanese legend Takanori Gomi (34-8 MMA, 3-3 UFC). But Sanchez came in heavy at 158 pounds and forfeited 20 percent of his purse. Gomi weighed in at 156. And fellow Japanese legend Yushin Okami (28-7 MMA, 12-4 UFC) takes on former Bellator middleweight champion Hector Lombard (32-3-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC). Okami was 185 pounds for the main-card tilt, while Lombard was 186.

As the UFC 189 tour made its last stop in Dublin, featherweight champ Jose Aldo was met with a torrent of abuse from the Irish fans. It might have been unpleasant, but it might also have been just what he needed.